The Childcare Offer for 3 to 4 year olds

• What is the Childcare Offer?

  The Childcare Offer funds nursery education and childcare for 3 to 4 year olds, before they start full-time education. In the Vale of Glamorgan, it is made up of:

  Nursery Education 

  12.5 hours per week in a school nursery.

  You need to apply through the School Admissions Team for your school nursery place.

  You do not need to be eligible for the Childcare Offer to access Nursery Education.

  For more information and your application, please click here to be redirected to: Nursery Admissions

  Childcare Offer Funding

  17.5 hours per week of funding at a registered childcare provider in term time.

  Up to 30 hours per week of funding at a childcare provider in the school holidays, for three weeks per term (9 holiday weeks in total per year)

  A total of 48 weeks of funded childcare per year. You will need to fund any additional childcare that you need. 

  The Childcare Offer and Starting Nursery Education

  This video explains the difference between Childcare Offer funding and starting nursery education in the Vale of Glamorgan:

   

   

• Children with Additional Needs

  To ensure that the childcare element of the Offer is inclusive to eligible children who need additional support, help has been made available by means of a separate funding stream called the Childcare Offer for Wales Additional Support Grant (ASG).

   

  This includes children with: 

  • Additional learning needs

  • Disabilities

  • Health needs

   

  Funding can be used for: 

  • Training for childcare providers 

  • Additional staffing

  • Equipment

  • Physical adjustment to childcare settings

   

  If your child has additional support needs: 

  • Parents/Carers are currently unable to indicate on their application form that their child has a disability or additional learning need or an emerging need. Please contact us if you feel your child may need additional support

  • Apply as normal and wait for a decision

  • Once your application is approved please get back in touch with us to confirm

   

  More information is available here:

  Childcare Offer for Wales Additional Support Grant Guidance 2021

   

  You may also be interested in our Index for Children with Disabilities or Additional Needs. The Index is the Vale of Glamorgan's voluntary register of children and young people with disabilities or additional needs.

   

  The Index aims to give a clearer picture of how many children and young people with disabilities or additional needs there are, and through Families First Grant funding support, enables us to work together with other agencies to help better coordinate services. 

• Who can apply? 

  You can apply for funded childcare if:

  • You live in Wales;  
  • Your child is 3 to 4 years old. Please go to the table below for eligibility dates;
  • You are a student in Higher or Further Education enrolled on a course that is 10 weeks long or more

          OR

  • You are employed or self-employed and you earn at least:
    • £195.36 per week if you are 21 years old or older
    • £160 per week if you are 18-20 years old

  (these rates are based on 16 hrs per week at the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage for April 2025 - March 2026 and will change annually)

  • You earn less than £100, 000 gross, per year, per parent.  If either parent earns over £100,000 gross, per year, you will be ineligible for the Childcare Offer.

   

  You will need to upload the following supporting documents to your application: 

  • Your child’s birth certificate; 

  • Evidence of your address, e.g. your most recent Council tax letter; 

  • Your most recent 3 months of payslips if you are employed;

  • Your most recent self-assessment tax return if you are self-employed;

  • An enrolment letter/confirmation of a place in Further or Higher education.

   

  You will need to upload eligibility evidence for both parents if you are a two-parent family.

   

  Please note:

  • The term ‘parent’ refers to parents, legal guardians, step-parents, adoptive parents, foster carers, guardians, kinship carers, carers with a Special Guardianship Order and long-term live-in partners who live within the same household as the child.  

  • Parents currently on maternity/paternity/parental/adoption leave can apply for the Childcare Offer if they meet the above eligibility criteria. 

  • In a single-parent family, the above eligibility criteria apply to the sole parent. 

  • In a two-parent family the above eligibility criteria apply to both parents. 

  • Parents can access Tax-Free Childcare, Tax Credits or Universal Credit at the same time as the Offer, for any additional hours of childcare they pay for in respect of their child or for other children in the family. Visit the Childcare Choices website for further information.

  • Eligibility cannot be confirmed until a fully completed application form has been received and processed by the Childcare Offer team and you have received a confirmation email.

   

  Exceptions to the Eligibility Criteria: 

  • In a two-parent family where one parent meets the eligibility criteria and the other parent receives specific benefits, you could be eligible for the Childcare Offer in some circumstances. 

    This is based on the parent being in receipt of, or having an underlying entitlement to, one of the following qualifying benefits:

    • Incapacity benefit;
    • Carers allowance;
    • Carers element of Universal Credit;
    • Severe disablement allowance;
    • Long term incapacity benefit; 
    • Employment and support allowance (ESA);
    • National insurance credits on the grounds of incapacity for work or limited capability for work;
    • Universal Credit where the individual has been assessed as having limited capability for work.

   

  • Families where both parents are in receipt of the above benefits (or has an underlying entitlement to the above benefits), or the sole parent in a single parent family, will not be able to access the Childcare Offer.

  • Where parents have separated but do not share equal custody of the child, the parent with primary custody will be eligible to take up the Offer (if they meet the eligibility criteria).

  • Where parents share equal custody one parent will need to be nominated as the lead parent for the Offer.

  • Parents who are in education or training and have formally suspended their studies due to long term sickness could still be eligible for the Childcare Offer. 

  • Parents who are employed/self-employed but who are temporarily away from the workplace on statutory sick leave could still be eligible for the Childcare Offer.

• When to apply? 

  Childcare Funding: When is my child eligible?

  Date of birth between	Applications open (there is no deadline)	Eligible for funded childcare from	Eligible for funded childcare until
  01/09/2020 - 31/12/2020	06/11/2023 (Currently open)	08/01/2024	31/08/2025
  01/01/2021 - 31/03/2021	26/02/2024 (Currently open)	08/04/2024	31/08/2025
  01/04/2021 - 31/08/2021	19/06/2024 (Currently open)	02/09/2024	31/08/2025
  01/09/2021 - 31/12/2021	23/10/2024 (Currently open)	06/01/2025	31/08/2026
  01/01/2022 - 31/03/2022	12/02/2025 (Currently open)	28/04/2025	31/08/2026
  01/04/2022 - 31/08/2022	18/06/2025 (Currently open)	01/09/2025	31/08/2026

  There is no deadline for applications, but funding cannot be backdated.  

   

• How to apply? 

  1. Check your eligibility

  Check your eligibility online. Please note, the eligibility checker is a guide only.

  2. Apply

  Apply online. To apply online you will need:

  • Your child's birth certificate

  • Proof of address

  • Proof of household income or enrolment on a higher or further education course

   

  3. Select childcare setting and agree hours

  Once approved, select your preferred setting online and confirm the childcare hours to be provided. Make sure you've discussed availability with the childcare setting before confirming online.

   

  Please follow the link below to apply and please note there are several Welsh Government support tools which could help you with completing your application, should you need it:

  Check your eligibility

  Apply for the Childcare Offer

  Parents get help with the Childcare Offer

   

  Do you need to find local Childcare? 

  If you are looking for available childcare, you can visit the Childcare Information Wales website or contact the Family Information Service to discuss your requirements:

  Childcare Information Wales

  If you need any further help with your Childcare Offer application and/or childcare search, please contact the Vale's Childcare Offer representatives on:

  • 01446 704704

  • fis@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk

• Information for Childcare Providers

  If you haven’t already registered to deliver the Childcare Offer via the National Digital Service, please do so by following the link below:

  Register
  

   

  This link will take you to the Government Gateway login page where you can begin the registration journey. You can find more information on creating your Government Gateway account, as well as what to do next if you already have one, here: 

  Help accessing Government Gateway for the Childcare Offer for Wales

   

  For more information on how to register for delivering the Childcare Offer via the National Digital Service, please follow this link:

  Providers get help with the Childcare Offer for Wales

• Frequently Asked Questions 

  Will I have to pay for anything?

  The Childcare Offer funds a maximum of 30 hours of early education and childcare per week. The funding from the government is for the education and care the professionals within the setting provide. It does not include food, transport or off-site activities that incur an extra charge and providers will be able to charge you for these.

   

  Reminder: The Childcare Offer funds a maximum of 48 out of 52 weeks of the year and parents will be liable for any childcare used during the unpaid weeks. These will always be school holiday weeks.

   

  Childcare Offer - Additional Charges FAQ's

   

  Can I use more than one childcare provider?

  Yes, you can use up to TWO registered childcare settings per day in addition to your Nursery Education setting in any given day.

   

  During the holiday period a child may therefore access a maximum of two registered settings under the offer.

   

  How much childcare funding can I use during school holidays?

  Children will be allocated 3 weeks of holiday provision per term. 

  • If a parent was eligible for 1 term - 3 weeks holiday provision;
  • If a parent was eligible for 2 terms - 6 weeks holiday provision;
  • If a parent was eligible for 3 terms - 9 weeks holiday provision;
  • If a parent was eligible for 4 terms – 12 weeks holiday provision;
  • If a parent was eligible for 5 terms – 15 weeks holiday provision.

   

  Unused weeks from each term can be rolled into the next term including into a new academic year.

   

  Holiday weeks cannot be used before they have been accrued.

  
  Can I accrue my hours?

  No. Parents will be provided with a total of 30 hours a week of combined Nursery Education provision and childcare with parents choosing how much of the 30 hours to use. Any hours not used in a week will be lost.

   

  Any unused holiday weeks can be carried over and used in the next term, provided they are still eligible to receive the Offer.

   

  What if my employment circumstances change?

  Families may at times fall out of eligibility for the Offer if for example one or both parents lose their job or their hours are reduced below the minimum requirement. In order to provide stability for both children and childcare providers, and to give parents the opportunity to become eligible again, those families who fall out of eligibility will still be able to access the Offer for a limited amount of time (8 weeks temporary exemption period).

   

  It is the parent’s responsibility to inform both the Local Authority and the provider if their circumstances change.

   

  Do I have to access Nursery Education to get the childcare funding?

  No. You can still access the 17.5 hours per week of funded childcare in term time if you choose not to take up the 12.5 hours per week of nursery education funding. However, childcare hours funded through the Childcare Offer do not increase if you do not take up your nursery education place.

• 2 Year Old Childcare Offer  

  In April 2023, Flying Start in the Vale of Glamorgan began to roll out its 2-year-old childcare offer in line with Welsh Government's expansion of the Early Years Provision. It is currently being offered to selected postcodes, but it will gradually be rolled out across all areas of the Vale of Glamorgan.  Welsh Government have not yet advised us of the timescales of the full roll out.
  
  

  The 2-year-old childcare offer provides 12.5 hours of childcare per week during term time. Children will be eligible for the offer from the term after their second birthday until the term after their third birthday. Childcare can be offered in both Flying Start Settings, and with private childcare settings who are registered to provide the 2-year-old childcare offer.
  
  

  To find out if you are eligible for the 2-year-old childcare offer, you can use the post code checker here. If you are eligible, the system will direct you to the Citizen Portal to submit an application. Following your application, our Childcare Liaison Officer will review your application and contact you directly to discuss your requirements.
  
  

  Click here for further information on the Government’s Phased expansion of the Early years provision:

  Flying Start Childcare

   

  Further information:

  All childcare settings registered for the 2-year-old childcare offer have access to additional support from the Flying Start Inclusion Team, regular quality visits and access to additional training.
  
  

  If any childcare settings are interested in providing the 2-year-old childcare offer they should contact the team on:

  • 01446 725 106

  • 2yearoldchildcare@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk

   

  The Family Information Service can provide information on other sources of help with childcare costs. For example the Tax Free Childcare Scheme:

  Help with Childcare Costs 

   

• Further information and contact details

  Welsh Government Childcare Offer for Wales

  Childcare Offer Guidance for Local Authorities (April 2025)

  Vale Family Information Service (FIS)

  Dock Offices

  Subway Road

  Barry

  Vale of Glamorgan

  CF63 4RT

  • 03000 628628
  • fis@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk

  • @VALEFIS

  • @VOGFIS